Dear Diary-It's the End of the World
by DreamonAlina
Summary: Sixteen year old Riley Rozen is all by herself in a world full of zombies. She thinks she's walker food, until she meets Rick Grimes's group. Will Rick and his group be enough to show Riley that life in the zombie apocalypse might be worth living? And more importantly, will they show her what it takes to survive? Rick/OC father/daughter relationship. Written in diary format.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the Walking Dead! Just my OC, "Riley Rozen" and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Summary:** Sixteen year old Riley Rozen is all by herself in a world full of zombies. She thinks she's walker food, until she meets Rick Grimes's group. Will Rick and his group be enough to show Riley that life in the zombie apocalypse might be worth living? And more importantly, will they show her what it takes to survive? Rick/OC father/daughter relationship.

**Author's Note: **So LaceyoftheTypewriter has an amazing fanfiction called "Alive Amongst the Dead: Noah Wrigley's Story" that is a Rick/OC father/daughter relationship, and while reading it, it made me realize how much I love Walking Dead stories like this, and I think there should be more. So I took it upon myself to write one too. This story has actually been swimming in my mind for a while and I actually had a majority of it written in a notebook, and I was finally able to get enough energy to type it all out!

So this is my very first attempt at a Walking Dead fanfiction!

This story is actually going to be written in diary format, which is something I'm also trying for the very first time, and I think that it'd be interesting to write a Walking Dead story through a diary's eyes. If you ever get confused please let me know!

*whispers* P.S you should totally check out LaceyoftheTypewriter's story because it's actually fricken amazing and inspired this one.

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Day...I Don't Even Know**

I don't know how long it's been since it happened. I don't know how long my family and I were on the road since it happened. Our original plan was to go from our house in South Carolina to my brother, Dominic's house in Fort Benning, Georgia, where he was stationed with his wife, Addison. But since that plan was made, a lot of things had changed. Mainly, the loss of my family. I can remember it like it was yesterday, the memories were _that _vivid...

...

"Are you sure this is safe?" My mother, Katherine (always the protecter in our family) asked my father, Will.

"Katherine, we have to take a rest sometime," He told her. "Besides, this area seems sercure. And if not, we have our weapons, all of our supplies are in the car. We can make a run for it very easily," My dad said.

He turned to me, "Riley, could you please go see if you can find us some firewood?"

I turned towards my sister, who was setting up a tent. "Why don't you get Christine to do it?"

"Because he asked _you_, Miss Rozen," Katherine spoke up. "Get going."

With a groan, I had gotten ip from the ground. Before I headed towards the forest, my dad stopped me, slipping a buck knife into my hands. "You remember what to do?"

I nodded. "Aim for the brain," I said as slipped the knife into my back pocket.

"Be careful. You get into any trouble, you just holler. Daddy will come running for you."

"Dad," I said with an embarrassed whine. "I'm fifteen, not five, remember?"

He leaned over and kissed my forehead. "You'll always be five to me. Be careful."

"You too. Scream if you need me," I said, turned around, and made my way into the forest.

My dad didn't really specify what firewood he wanted, so I just started grabbing twigs and broken branches and whatever else my arms could hold.

There had been some rustling in one of the bushes, and I had automatically dropped everything in my arms, reaching into my pocket and grabbing my dad's knife.

The bushes kept rustling, so I took a couple cautious steps fprward, and when something emerged from the bush I almost shoved the knife down. But I'm glad I hesitated when I did.

It had been a dog.

A little German Sheppard, who looked like he had gotten lost. I'm not sure how old he was, but he was a little bit bigger than what I imagined a puppy would look like.

"Hey there, fella," I said, bending down to his level. He ran right up to me, and I put my hand out for him to sniff. After he deemed me safe and I deemed him safe, he licked my hand, nuzzling his nose against my skin.

"You're pretty cute," I had commented. "Maybe Dad will let me keep you. I know, it might be just another mouth to feed, but maybe-"

And that's when I found myself cut off by piercing screams.

My sister's piercing screams.

"Christine?" I called out. "Christine!" Forgetting about the dog (but the dog apparently hadn't seemed to have forgotten me), I ran back towards my family, my buck knife raised.

When my camp was in sight, I screamed. There were three of those Freaks, and by the looks of it, there were more piling in.

My mom struck a Freak in the face with her baseball bat, but another one came out from behind her and bit her shoulder. She let out a bloodcurdling scream.

"Mommy!" I cried out. I tried running towards her, but my dad grabbed my arms, pushing me towards the car. "Go! Go! Riley, get to the car. If we're not back by morning, you drive, you hear me? Drive!"

He didn't give me time to argue; my dad lifted the dog, pushed him into my arms, and shoved me towards the truck.

I ran for it, but not before pausing to look back at my dad whacking a Freak in the face with a bat.

Tears rushing down my face, I climbed into the car, locked all the doors and windows, before pushing the seat all the way back to keep me hidden.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw my mother getting bitten. I shoved my face into the fur of the small dog, and continued to cry.

I had eventually fallen asleep, and when I opened my eyes, I saw the rays of the morning light. The dog had moved to the front passenger seat sometime during the night. I fixed the seat so that it was proper again, and rubbed my neck when it hit me.

My dad hadn't come back.

"No," I whispered. "No, no, no, no!" I mean, there were a lot of Freaks, but my dad is strong! He served in the military! If there was anyone who could survive, it would be my dad.

I pulled the keys out of the ignition, locking the door behind me as I slammed the door. We had parked a good deal away from what was supposed to be our camp. When I got there, I broke down.

My mother's mangled body was being fed on by a Freak.

_"You remember what to do?"_ Dad's voice had rung in my head.

I pulled the knife out of my pocket and marched right over to the Freak eating my mother as my response echoed through my mind.

_"Aim for the brain."_

I shoved the knife all the way down into the head of the Freak, and when I was sure it was _dead_ dead, I pulled the knife out, and kicked it away from my Mom's body.

"Oh God," I sobbed. There was barely anything left of her. "Mommy," I whispered as I grabbed whatever was left of her hand with both of mine, not even caring about the blood. No doubt she was already dead. "Oh my God! My mommy! My mommy!"

That was when my mommy opened her eyes. They had the same milkiness of the Freaks. She growled, snapped at me, and tried to claw at me. I screamed, dropping her hand. Without thinking, I grabbed my knife and rammed it right in between my own mother's eyes. She immediately stopped growling, moving, snapping. She dropped to the ground. Tears of horror slipped down my face as I shakily let go of the knife's handle.

I backed up on all fours, away from my mother's body to have my hand touch something chewed, warm, and sticky. I turned to see the face of my father, in the same state as my mother. Difference was, my father seemed to still be alive.

"Daddy!" I had exclaimed, not even caring if the Freaks could hear me. "Oh Dad, what happened?"

I rubbed his sweaty hair back as he weakly spoke, "They came out of nowhere. Next thing I knew, your mother's shoulder was in a Freak's mouth and your sister was being chased into the forest."

I had cried even harder at the thought of my sister's death.

He grunted in pain, and coughed up blood. I wiped it away from his mouth as best as I could before pressing my hand to his forehead.

"Daddy, you're burning up," I said, tears falling on his face.

"Listen, there isn't much time," My dad said. "You need to get out of here."

I immediately started shaking my head. "No, no way, not a chance in hell. There is no way I am leaving you here."

"Baby, you have to," He said weakly. "Look at me. I'm dead anyways."

I let my eyes wander down my father's raw, gnawed on body, and I turned my head before I could throw up.

"The GPS is programmed to take you to Dominic. Find him, then stay in Fort Benning, and stay safe. Now, go," He urged with a groan.

"I'm not leaving until..." I trailed off when a sob racked my body.

He reached his hand out and I grabbed it blindly, clutching it hard.

He grunted a couple more times, and closed his eyes a few seconds after.I felt his hand go limp in my hands, and I knew he was gone.

More tears fell from my eyes and on to his face. "No," I sobbed, my hands shaking as I reached out to gently touch his face. "No! No, Daddy! Wake up! _Wake up!_"

He did wake up. His eyes were milky-looking, just like my mother. I dropped his hand and crawled back, suppressing my screams. I didn't want to stab my father in the head, but I also didn't want him walking around like a Freak to feed on a poor human or to be killed by another person.

So I pulled out the knife from my mother's forehead, and turned to my dad, who was very weakly getting up.

I choked back my tears as I said, "I'm sorry, Daddy." Putting both hands on the handle, I shoved the knife into his brain. He growled once, finally died, dropping to the ground with the knife still lodged in his head.

I fell to the ground next to him, and tucked my knees under my chin. I don't know how long I sat there, but eventually, I pulled the knife out of my Dad's dead, then wiped the blood off of it with some leaves. Then I quickly checked my Dad for some weapons, and he had a small gun on him along with the bat. I quickly grabbed them, knowing I couldn't waste any weapons, and slowly stood up.

I wanted to bury them. I wanted them to have a proper burial.

But it was just me. I didn't have a shovel.

But I _did_ have a digger.

I quickly drove the car over to the camp site, and brought the dog out. Then I showed him that I wanted him to dig, which he started right away as I started with my hands.

We didn't dig very deep holes, but it was still something. I dragged whatever remained of my parents, and put them in the holes. I made them as nice as possible, brushing my mother's fiery red hair (almost exactly the same shade as mine) back, closing my father's brown eyes (just like mine).

When they first got married, a friend of theirs bought them two graveyard plot side by side as a joke, so that they'd get buried together. I still wanted that for them.

So we put what little dirt we dug up over the bodies, and I sat down on the ground before I said a quick thank you to the two of them for bringing me into the world and being the best parents they could be. Then, I grabbed some flowers from nearby, and laid them at their heads.

Then the dog and I turned around, not once looking back.

I opened the car door, picked him up, and put him in before I climbed in next to him. The dog immediately sensed the sad mood I was in, and leaned his head on my leg as I sat there.

And that's when I pulled out this diary. I've decided to write down everything that's happened. I don't want to forget anything. Memories are too important, especially nowadays.

I'm going to stop now, gotta get going if I want to get to Dom's. Maybe I could try calling again...

* * *

**A Few Days later**

Dom hasn't been answering any of my calls and I'm starting to get scared. Sometimes when I'm driving, I see the Freaks walking around, more and more by the day.

Wait, I think the radios is finally picking something up...

* * *

**Half an hour later**

I don't know what to do. The radio announced that Atlanta has a refugee center, but Dom's in Fort Benning, not Atlanta. If only he would answer my calls...

* * *

**Sometime Later**

I just had dinner (a small one-I have to share the food with the dog, whom I've named Dooley after a truck that we passed and he seemed to react positively to the name) and I'm going to sleep on the idea of going to Atlanta. I think I have enough gas. At least, I hope.

* * *

**The Next Morning**

I'm going to Atlanta.

* * *

**After a Bit of Driving**

I'm not sure what made me choose Atlanta. I guess it's becasue it was confirmed by a voice, and I haven't heard a proper voice in quite a while. I can't reach Dom at all; what if he isn't in Fort Benning after all? What if he left it? What if I become stranded, with no one else around? I can't take that risk.

So Dooley and I are headed to Atlanta. I pulled out the map since the GPS died. Hopefull we'll get there fast. Not just because of supplies and safety, but people. _LIVING. PEOPLE. _People who can hold up conversations, play games with, people who aren't trying to gnaw your face off 24/7. I mean, I'm lucky I have Dooley for a bit of companionship, but I can't start talking to a dog like it's a person. I'll have hit an all time low.

* * *

**Update**

I've started talking to the dog.

* * *

**Some Days Later**

It all happened so fast.

* * *

**A Bit After That**

Sorry I cut off, I was shaking so bad I couldn't hold the pen. Anyways, what I meant by that is that I lost it all. Well, I'm being dramatic, not all of it. I was able to grab my weapons (the most two large backpacks could carry) and some supplies. And Dooley, somehow, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start from the beginning.

...

Dooley and I had finally reached the outskirts of Atlanta. It was getting dark, so I decided to go in the morning, when I'd be able to see where I was going. So I turned everything off, laid the seat back, and fell asleep.

I don't know how much longer it was later, but I was awoken by the sound of Dooley's barking, and when I opened my eyes, I saw three of the Freaks attacking my car.

I was able to contain my scream, and after sitting there for a minute, I tried starting the car. It didn't turn on, and it took a horrifying minute to realize that it wasn't _going _to start.

I checked the gas level, but it had had a good amount in it. It must have been something internal (I never figured it out; I went back yesterday for it, but someone managed to figure out what was wrong with it and fixed it, because it was gone).

I realized that I had to leave the car, so I grabbed as many weapons and supplies as I could that could fit into two bags, shoved Dooley into one of them, and got ready to make a run for it. I took my gun out, wincinng as I did so because noise attracts the Freaks, but then I remembered the bats.

I wasn't that strong (I'm a fifteen year old girl still going through puberty-sue me) but I was still strong enough to hit a Freak in the face long enough to keep it down or even kill it if I had the time to hit it more than once.

I grabbed the bat and clutched it tightly in my hands. "Ready, Dooley?" I asked my dog, and receeved an eager bark in response. "But shh, you gotta stay quiet," I told him, and got a gentle whimper in response. It's like he can understand me and frankly it was kinda freaking me out.

The three Freaks were at the front of my car, so I crawled all the way into the trunk so I could get out the back. I got my bat ready, took a deep breath, and opened the trunk as quietly as possible.

The Freaks were still at the front of the car, so as quiety and as fast as my short legs could take me, I ran.I don't think that they noticed I was gone.

I know I had to get off of the road (Freaks tended to hang around out there, so did people) but going into the forest didn't seem like an option, especially in the darkness.

But what choice did I have? Take my chances on the road, or in the forest?

I could look for another car, but what were the chances that it had gas in it? More than once I've had to siphon gas from abandoned cars and I'm pretty sure other people get the same idea.

In the end I just ended up going for the forest. I got to the first strong tree that I could find, and climbed up it. As soon as I was firmly sitting in it, I took off my belt and wrapped it around the branch before belting myself in. Thank you, Katniss Everdeen!

Then, I pulled Dooley out of the bag, and he's curled up in my lap now, somehow managing to take a nap as I write this. Lord knows someone should. I made sure to grab a small blanket, so I threw it over the two of us and it's helping to keep us warm. Actually, it was more like Dooley was keeping me warm with the warmth of his dog body, even if he was small.

I am now more glad than ever that I didn't bring the knife down on this dog.

I'm not sure what to do now. I can't get into Atlanta without a car. Who knows, maybe those freaks came _from_ Atlanta. And I left the map in the car. In my haste to grab necessities, it was forgotten.

Now I'm stranded in a tree in a forest most likely filled with freaks, no car, no way of finding direction, and no people around me.

How could my life have changed so much in a few short days?

* * *

**The Next Night**

A pretty long day. Dooley and I have been trekking all day, looking for food, water, people, a place to stay in other than a tree. I know I already have quite a bit of food and water, but between a person and a dog, it's not gonna last very long.

Unfortunately, we didn't find any of that stuff. We found more freaks, but I was able to dispatch of them fairly quickly.

So it's the end of the day, and I just climbed another tree before strapping us back in. We ate a bit of bread and had a few sips of water each. We have to ration the food, who knows how long it's gonna be until we can find some more.

The one thing that I actually made a conscious effort to grab out of my car was our family photo album. While my dad was packing all this survival stuff like his guns (and he had a lot of them) and food and water and stuff, my mom was grabbing our photo albums. It was the one thing she couldn't bear to part with.

Since Dooley and I settled into a tree around the middle of sundown, there was still some light, so I pulled out the photo album, and began looking through it. There was some of my parent's wedding, some baby pictures of Dom, Chris, and me.

Looking at the pictures quickly depressed me though, so I put the book away and pulled out this diary instead to recount today's events. Which wasn't much, actually. I just hope that we can cover more ground tomorrow.

* * *

**The Next Day**

It's my birthday.

I'm sixteen years old.

I guess in the whole 'end of the world' panic, my family and I completely forgot that my birthday was coming up, and it was only when I was stroking the necklace my parents gave me for my last birthday did I realize that my birthday had most likely passed, or was in the next couple of days, though I would never know.

All I know is that I'm sixteen years old now.

And there wasn't a bar in sight.

What a rip off.

* * *

**The Next Day**

I killed someone.

But not because I wanted to.

* * *

**A Few Days Later**

Sometimes it's...hard, writing in this. Recapping all the things in life. But I made a promise to myself not to forget anything, so I have to write what happened down.

...

Dooley and I had been walking in the forest, when we heard rustling. The little dog automatically moved in front of me to protect me, and I pulled my buck knife out, prepared for the worst. If it was one freak, we would be extremely lucky and quickly kill it, before running in the opposite direction, because where one freak came, more would follow. But to our surprise, it wasn't a freak.

It was a person.

The first person I had seen in weeks.

It was a middle aged man, who was in hysterics. But the poor soul had a very large bite in his shoulder. Which meant that he was gonna change into a freak.

I mean, I knew I had been praying for human contact, but did it really have to be an infected person?

Deciding that I didn't want to be here when that happened, I turned around to run, but his voice made me stop. "Miss! Miss, please stop!"

I kept debating to run, but the guy was bitten. The fever was making him weak, he was losing blood, what harm could he have done?

So I slowly spun around on my heels. "What do you want?"

He took a few slow deep breaths before saying, "I want you to end it."

It took me a couple seconds to realize what he was asking me. "What? No! I'm sorry, but I can't kill you!"

"Look at me!" He shrieked, and I motioned for him to shut up. He fell to his knees weakly as he said, "I'm dead anyways," he said, choking on his tears. "I don't want to come back as one of these things. I don't wanna be a shell feeding on people. I just want to be at peace with my family." He hung his head. "Just please, help me get back to my family. They're lost."

"You're delirious," I tried convincing him, but in all reality, it was what I was trying to convince myself. The guy knew what he wanted. I just didn't want to do what he was asking me.

"I know very clearly what I want, Miss," He said. "I know you're just a kid, and I have no right to ask you of this, but please. I can't do it myself. I have no weapons. And I'm sorry if I have nothing to offer you for doing this for me." I guess he couldn't take the pain of sitting up anymore, because he went crashing to the ground.

I unconsciously lurched forward and grabbed him before he could fall to the ground, and slid to the ground with his head in my lap. All I could feel was my clammy hands against his sweaty skin as he closed his eyes and said, "Please, Miss. Please..."

I took a few deep, shaky breaths. I felt tears starting to build up. The poor guy's family was dead. _He_ was dead. He just wanted to go out his own way. With a very shaky hand, I reached into my back pocket for my dad's knife. "What's your name?" I asked, my voice equally as shaky.

"Rob-Robert," The man-or Robert, said, his breaths slowing.

"Who was in your family, Robert?" I asked, raising my knife above his head. Oh God, was I really going to do this?

"My-my wi-wife, Tracy," He breathed, and I felt his tears on my lap. "My daughter, Rob-Robin."

My hand shook violently as I held the knife in the air. I can't believe this! I couldn't kill the man. I _can't_ kill this man.

I could stab my own parents in between the eyes to keep them from eating me.

But that was the thing; this man has done absolutely _nothing_ to me. He hasn't put me in any split decision situations, or try to hurt me. He just wanted to die. _His own way._

"Say hi to them for me," I whispered, before finally bringing my knife down, ending the man's life.

As soon as I had done it, I let go of the knife handle and pushed Robert's body off of me. I had bent my legs, and tucked them under my chin before slowly rocking back and forth. At that point, Dooley had come and put his chin on top of my arm, trying to comfort me.

I quickly wipe away my tears of mourning for Robert, and grabbed my knife out of his skull. I wiped the blood off with some leaves. I had decided not to bury Robert. I didn't know him. He wasn't anything to me, except the very first life I ended.

So I put some flowers on his chest and just prayed that he wouldn't end up as freak food.

And then Dooley and I started walking again.

...

And that's how we ended up back in another tree, with not-so-full stomachs. I have a feeling that Robert's kill wouldn't be my last.

I just hope that these kills are only going to be in self defense.

* * *

**Some Days Later**

Dooley and I haven't been able to find any food. I've since abandoned my plan of heading into Atlanta. No way was I making the journey there low on energy and food and with absolutely no sense of direction.

I also haven't been able to sleep since the night I killed Robert. I mean, I see it as a killing, when in reality, it was a mercy killing. But I'll never be able to forget the way he looked when he begged me to end it for him before the bite did.

I hope he wasn't freak food.

* * *

**I Don't Even Know How Many Days Later And To Be Honest I Don't Care**

We're out of food. It seems like every place we look, they're either out, or overrun. If only we could find some people... and _good_ people. I used to watch stuff where isolated people or people pushed to the very brink and then they went crazy. I'm just holding out hope that it isn't like that. I mean, tv is scripted, isn't it?

I've also been getting weaker and weaker without sleep. Sometimes I can sleep okay for a few minutes, but then I hear a rustle and it wakes me up. I always feel like Dooley and I are in danger even though we're hidden in trees. Still, I'm waiting for the day where we become treed by freaks, which is why I'm really hoping to find a place-a _real_ place, with walls and a roof-to sleep in. At least in a house I don't hear so much rustling. Rustling always keeps me awake now.

* * *

**A Few Days Later**

I'm too weak to even do anything. Dooley and I walked a bit today, but then I became so light headed that we had to stop. I was beyond hungry, thirsty, and way sleep deprived. What few minutes of sleep I got were filled with Robert's face.

To be honest I was pretty surprised when we didn't come across any freaks. I've noticed the elevation getting higher, so maybe they don't like climbing so high?

Dooley had urged me to walk a bit more, so I did, before collapsing completely. So I decided to use whatever energy I had left to climb a tree. I didn't plan on going very far up, mainly because my arms shook so bad when I tried climbing.

When I finally got high enough, I pulled this diary out, just to write to have something to do. It's still light outside, but I'm gonna see if I can manage to snap up a bit of sleep so I'm more energized for tomorrow. I don't even know if that's possible.

The only thing I do know is that at this point, I don't care if the freaks get to me. I'm all skin and bones anyway.

* * *

**The Next Day**

A miracle happened.

We met a group.

With actual _people._

The group leader's name is Rick Grimes.

* * *

**TBC...**

**And this is when I'm gonna get into actual episodes. This was just a look back into Riley's life, a bit of backstory.**

**First episode I'm starting with is TS-19 because to be honest I don't care about the episodes before it because TS-19 is my favourite of season 1.**

**So I hope you all stick around for it!**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the Walking Dead! Just my OC, "Riley Rozen" and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note: **I like the response I've been getting for this story! It means a lot to me, since the Walking Dead is one of my favourite shows.

Anyways, here's more!

P.S I lied, we're starting around the middle of "Wildfire".

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**The Next Day**

So here I am, sitting in an RV. AN RV! It's owned by an old guy in Rick's group named Dale, and he offered me to drive in his RV, since there was no other room in the other cars.

A lot has happened in the couple days since I found this group, and I haven't had the time to grab my diary and write what's happened.

Until now, that is.

* * *

Dooley and I had been walking for a long time. I don't remember exactly how long though. The way I was walking, the way I looked, the way I _felt_, I might as well have been a freak. I knew at the rate that I was going, I was gonna be dead soon. If not from sleep deprivation or hunger, then a freak would grab me and I would not have the strength to fight back.

I had noticed that freaks don't bother other freaks. I didn't know what it was. Maybe the smell. Maybe the mentality. But eventually I came to the conclusion that humans, smell like food. Or, alive. It's almost like they can smell the blood running in our bodies.

So the next dead freak Dooley and I came across, I tore into it's stomach (throwing up what little was in my stomach in the process, and then I had to stop Dooley from eating it), and then lathered myself in it's blood, all in my hair, face, neck, any exposed area of skin, and then on to my clothes (it's a good thing I had an extra change of clothing; I didn't know how long I could stand the smell) before lathering Dooley too. He whined a bit at first about it, but quickly got over it. And then we started walking again.

I still thought it was really strange when we didn't come across freaks. I had absolutely no idea where we were heading, so maybe freaks don't hang around here.

Anyways, it was still daylight outside, but I was exhausted. Even if I couldn't sleep, I couldn't stand anymore. So I quickly scaled as high as I could manage (which actually wasn't very high) up a tree, and settled down.

I had actually managed a bit of sleep, when Dooley's barking woke me up. It was so sudden, that it startled me. And that's when I realized that I hadn't strapped myself in with my belt, because I went crashing to the ground, scraping my entire body, but I think my worst injury was cutting my forehead on a particularly sharp branch, that caused a such a huge rip across my forehead that I could hear the sound.

And then my body hit the ground, very hard, my head slamming on a rock. Now I was sleep deprived, hungry, _and_ losing blood. Could my situation have gotten any worse?

In two words, apparently yes. The reason Dooley was barking?

There was three freaks surrounding our tree.

Who now could smell my blood.

As shakily and as fast as I could, I got to my feet, my little dog stepping in front of me, snarling, as if that would send the freaks away. I pulled my knife out, since I know if I brought my gun out it would make noise, I couldn't even see straight, let alone aim, and I can't afford to lose bullets.

Using as much energy as I could, I pushed myself forward, burying the knife into the freak that was closest to me's head. He went crashing to the ground, and I had somehow managed to fall with him. And it was with that last fall did I know that this was it. I had managed to survive in the wilderness for a couple weeks, not too bad, if I do say so myself.

By this time Dooley was nudging me with his nose to get up, barking like crazy. But no matter how many times I commanded my body to move, it wouldn't. It was like someone had cut the cord from my brain to my muscles.

_Oh well,_ I thought as a figure loomed over me, moaning ravenously with hunger. _I just hope that it will go for my heart first._

And that's when I heard two gunshots, and two bodies hitting the ground. The gunshots were still loudly ringing in my ears, and I was losing blood too quickly. I knew I was finished anyways.

Then another figure was looming over me, and it looked...different. It _sounded _different. Less like a moan, and more like a...voice.

"Miss? Are you alive? Miss?" I could vaguely make out.

Dooley was still barking, and I could sort of hear a different voice trying to get him to be quiet. "Can't you let a girl die in peace?"

I felt two callused fingers touch my neck where my pulse was, and heard something along the lines of, "Still alive", and "Camp."

I didn't hear much of what happened after because I finally blacked out.

* * *

As far as I could remember, I didn't dream, which I was thankful for when I woke up. Just a whole lot of black, and best of all, no faces.

When I woke up, I felt like my eyelids wouldn't open. I fought as hard as I could, and eventually, they lifted slightly, but enough for me to see. I stretched out a bit, and winced as I did so. My arms were sore.

I tried sitting up, and immediately felt a head rush; and something sticky at my forehead. I reached my hand up, patting my head until my fingers finally landed on the foreign object on my head, which just ended up being an old rag, and the pain that prickled when I touched it brought it all back to me.

I fell out of the tree, ripped my head open, and almost died.

But I was saved.

And that's when I had gotten a better look at where I had been. I was in a tent, lying down on the ground in a sleep bag of sorts, a blanket tucked snuggly on my body. I immediately started panicking when I realized I couldn't find Dooley.

"Dooley?" I croaked, pulling the blanket off of me, and braced myself for the head rush and head ache I'd most certainly get when I'd finally stand up. And boy, did I get a head rush. I didn't let that stop me, though. I saw my two backpacks tucked away in the corner of the tent, and grabbed them both. I didn't know who these people were. Maybe they were crazy, and would kill me as soon as they realized that I would be of no use. I had to get out of there.

I pushed out of the tent, and as soon as I did, I saw my dog, sitting loyally in front of the tent, almost as if he was guarding me as I slept. I didn't see anyone immediately, but there were a few people that strayed among the little camp that the people seemed to have going on.

If I was going to slip out, now would have to have been the best chance. But as soon as I took a couple steps forward, my head rush came back all at once, and I tripped over a stick. I braced myself for the impact of hitting the ground, but a pair of strong arms grabbed me before I could.

"Easy, there," a distinctly familiar, Southern accent said. I looked up, and once the blurriness subsided, I was looking up at (he was really tall) the face of a man, maybe in his thirties, with a little curled brown hair, and soft blue eyes. His face started blurring again as my head started to swirl. "You're in no position to be walking right now."

I didn't even have enough energy to protest; I just let this man lead me back into the tent, and he eased me back onto the ground. Dooley had managed his way into the tent, and had plopped himself right down next to me. "I'm Rick Grimes. What's your name?"

I could only focus on one thing at a time for the time being, so I focused on the words 'Sheriff' on Rick's uniform. "Riley. Riley Rozen."

"Well, Riley Rozen, we're gonna check your head injury again, and then get some food in you. How does that sound?"

Not right, in my mind. "Why are you helping me? Where am I?"

"You're in our camp, just a little outside of Atlanta," Rick answered, and I perked up a bit.

"Atlanta?" I repeated. "Where the refugee center was?" Why weren't we there?

Rick's eyes instantly darkened, and I knew something was wrong. "What? What happened?"

"Did you have family in Atlanta?" He asked quietly, avoiding my gaze.

"No, but I heard there was a refugee center there, so I abandoned going after my brother to go there. Why, did something happen to Atlanta?" I asked, fear creeping it's way into my chest. Was Atlanta overrun?

Rick didn't answer my question. He just said, "I'm going to go get my wife, Lori. She'll look at your head again, bring you some food. Wait here." He was gone before I could even say, "Not like I could walk without falling face first."

I pet Dooley for a couple minutes while I waited for Rick's wife, and the tent flap opened, revealing a pretty woman around Rick's age, with brown eyes, brown hair, and a bright smile. "Hi. Riley, was it?" She asked, in the same accent as Rick.

"Yeah," I say, sitting up a bit straighter. "Are you Lori? Rick's wife?"

"That's me," She said as she sat down next to me. She had a bowl, a canteen that I assumed was filled with water, a rag, rolls of white strips that I assumed were bandages, some crackers, and a sandwich on a plate. My stomach immediately started growling at the sight of the food, and I could feel Dooley's growl as well.

"You had a pretty nasty gash on your forehead, but we managed to stop the bleeding, and wash away all the walker blood on you. I'm just gonna check it again, and see if it's okay. Why was the walker blood all over you anyways?"

Walkers? Okay, I had to admit. That sounded way cooler than freaks.

I brought myself back into the real world when I felt Lori's hands on the back of my head, gently unwrapping the rag. "Oh. I just noticed that frea-walkers don't bother other walkers. I thought that it had to do with mentality at first, like a walker just didn't bother another walker, but then I realized that they don't have any other instinct than to walk or eat, so I realized it must have been the way that people smelled like food. Well, walkers don't eat other walkers, do they?" I received a head shake from Lori as I continued. "So I slathered the blood all over me in hopes that they couldn't smell me."

Lori smiled as she pulled the rag all the way off. "That's pretty smart of you, Riley."

She huffed as she studied my head. "How do I look, Doctor Grimes?"

"Well, no signs of infection so far, but we should still keep it clean and change your bandages. I finally managed to find some. When Rick showed up with you in his arms, blood covering your face, and Shane holding a barking dog in his arms, I barely had time to think. I grabbed the first thing I could find."

I instantly felt a bit guilty. I sort of feel like I forced myself on these people. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Lori asked as she gently pressed the damp washcloth against my forehead.

"For forcing myself on to you people," I said.

To my surprise, Lori burst into laughter. "Sweetheart, you didn't force yourself on us. If Rick wanted to, he would have just left you out there. He brought you back to us, because he _wanted_ to help you. That's just the kind of man that he is. You aren't forcing yourself anything."

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"Just a couple hours. Nothing big has happened."

It was silent for a bit until Lori looked over at Dooley, and smiled. "That's a cute dog you got there. What's it's name?"

"His name is Dooley," I answered, and Lori laughed a bit.

"Dooley? Interesting name. Where did you get it?" She asked as she gently began wrapping my head up.

"It was the name that I had seen on a moving truck on my way to Atltanta, and he liked the way it sounded. So did I."

Lori finished up the wrapping by sticking it to my head with tape. "I like it too. Now," She said, picking up the plate, crackers, and canteen. "You eat this. You look all skin and bones."

The sandwich was cut in half so it was a triangle, so I picked up both halves, setting one half in front of Dooley to eat, and he immediately dug in. Lori gave out a tiny gasp, and I looked over at what she was surprised at, but I didn't see anything. "What?" I asked.

"I completely forgot to bring something for your dog. Hold on, I'll go get him something," She said, starting to get up.

I leaned forward and grabbed her arm, stopping her. "Mrs. Grimes, it's okay. Dooley only eats so much, and that, a couple of crackers, and some water will be enough to hold his stomach."

I can tell she still wants to bring him something, but she eventually relaxed. "If you're sure, then okay. You finish that sandwich, and then come outside to meet the others. I have something to do real quick, so when you're done, come look for me, or Rick. And I'm not sure if you noticed any little kids running around?" When I shook my head, no, in answer, she said, "The little brown haired boy is mine and Rick's son, Carl. Ask him where we are if you need to. Okay?"

I nodded, and Lori gently patted my shoulder, scratched behind Dooley's ears, and got up.

Just before she left the tent, she turned around, "Riley?"

"Yes?"

"Call me Lori, okay?"

I instantly felt a little shy. "Okay, Lori."

She smiled at me before finally leaving the tent.

I can't believe this was happening. I had food on a plate in front of me, I was in a tent, there was _people_, people who wanted to help me.

I so owe them.

I ravenously gobbled up the second half of the sandwich (and I almost cried when I recognized the taste to be peanut butter), grateful that there was finally something solid sitting in my stomach. I quickly ate half of the crackers that Lori had given me before giving the other half to Dooley, and then washed it all down with some water in the canteen, which I also shared with Dooley.

As soon as there was actual food in my stomach, I felt one hundred percent better. I still felt a little weak, and a bit groggy, but I felt a whole lot better than I did a few hours ago.

So I decided to go find Lori.

I was able to walk a little easier now that my light headedness was gone, but I was still wobbly on my legs as I walked out of the tent. I started looking around for Lori, but saw a boy, probably just a couple years younger than me, with brown hair, sitting with a little blonde haired girl.

"Hey, kid!" I called as I made my way over to him. He looked over at me, a bit startled. "Are you Carl? Lori's son?"

"Yeah, that's me," He said, and I saw him and the blonde girl eyeing Dooley, kinda like they wanted to play with him but were too shy to ask. "Um, my mom went to do some laundry. She's over there," Carl pointed in the direction his mother went in.

"Thanks," I said, and was about to make my way over to Lori, when I stopped. "Carl? And, other little girl?"

"My name is Sophia," She said in a small voice.

"Sophia," I repeated. I bent down so that I was at Dooley's level, and scratched behind his ears. "Do you mind looking after my buddy Dooley here, while I talk with Carl's mother?"

They both looked excited, but a little uncertain. "Um, I'm not sure if my mom would let me," Sophia said.

"Well, you can go ask her. I promise, he's harmless. Just be careful when you play with him, he's covered in walker blood," I say. "Carl, your mother likes Dooley, I'm sure she'd have no problem with you playing with him."

Just as Carl was about to speak, Lori came up from behind him. "Riley! I was just about to go look for you."

"I was about to do the same," I said, standing up. "I was just telling Carl how I would like him to look after Dooley for me for now, but he wanted to know if it was okay with you first."

"Well, as long as he's not dangerous, I'm fine with it," She said, a smile on her face. She looked down at her son. "It's okay, go ahead."

A bright smile on his face, Carl fell to the ground and gingerly pet Dooley, who reacted enthusiastically to another person.

"Yeah, he's just a big softie," I said. "If you run into a problem with him, just call me, okay?"

He barely nods. I think he was just way excited to play with a dog. It looks like it won out for Sophia too, because soon she was on the ground next to Carl, petting Dooley.

"Does he know any tricks?" Carl asked.

"Well, he knows when to be quiet when walkers are around, if that's a trick. Nothing else, really. If you want to teach him, go right ahead, I'm not stopping you," I said, and he brightened up.

After making sure he and Sophia were all right with Dooley, Lori lead me away to go and find Rick. "Thank you, for letting them play with your dog. They're kids, they get bored real easy. That should keep them busy for a while."

I wave it off. "No problem. I know how boring it can get. Everyday was literally just walking, looking for food, and sleeping for Dooley and me. Besides," I turn my head back to see the two of them laughing, and my dog happily jumping around. "They all look very happy."

Lori smiled and patted my back. We finally found Rick, standing with another man, who looked vaguely familiar. "Riley, this is Shane," Lori said, pointing to the other man.

"Riley Rozen, your name was?" Shane asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, that's me."

"Where's your family?" He asked. "Who were you with before?"

My family. I feel like it was too soon, but to be honest, I have no idea how long it's been. And maybe these were initiation questions that all new members had to answer in order to be in a group.

And at this point, I couldn't afford being by myself anymore.

"My camp was attacked," I said in a small voice. "It was just me and my family and then just...me."

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I looked down, and I could feel the three adult's eyes on me. "It's just been me and Dooley for god knows how long." I finally looked back up at the three of them, and they were all watching intently. "I would have been dead if you guys hadn't found me. Of starvation, dehydration, or sleep deprivation. I am forever grateful, and I promise I'll do whatever I have to to stay in this group, I promise."

"Honey, all you have to do right now is heal, okay?" Lori said to me. "Once you're better, we can start talking about chores and things.

It was silent for a bit until Shane broke it. "As soon as you're ready to work, you start pulling your weight around here, understand?"

"Perfectly," I nodded.

Shane just gave Rick a look I couldn't decipher, before turning around and leaving to do whatever. Rick was about to do the same, before I stopped him. "Mr. Grimes?" I asked.

"Just Rick," He automatically said, turning around.

"Right," I said. "Earlier, you didn't answer my question about Atlanta. What happened?"

Rick and Lori just exchanged looks that only husband and wife could understand. Then Lori gave me a slight smile and a light tap on the shoulder before she turned around to leave. "Oh, Riley? If you have any clothes you need us to wash, just let us know."

I looked down at the clothes that I was wearing then, all covered in walker blood. "Well, there's these clothes, but I'll give them to you later, if it's not too much."

"Nonsense," She said, before she left.

Then Rick gently sat me down. "So you didn't have family in Atlanta?"

"No one," I said, shaking my head before quickly stopping.

He took a deep breath before saying, "Atlanta was overrun. Everything is gone. The city belongs to the dead now."

With each word, my stomach dropped. So I abandoned my plan to meet up with Dom and Addie for _this_? I mean, I guess if I didn't decide to go to Atlanta, I'd still be alone, dead, or worse, undead.

But it still didn't sit well in my stomach. I turned away from Rick, and took deep, steady breaths.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just, I dropped my plan to meet up with my brother to come to Atlanta. Now I don't know if my brother is dead or alive and he could be the only person I have."

Rick was quiet before he said, "If you don't mind me asking, if you were going into Atlanta, how did you end up here?"

"My car got attacked by walkers. I had to leave it, and my map, behind. I ran into the forest, and I had no idea where I was. So I just gave up my hope of going into Atlanta in case more walkers were there. No way would I have made it without a car. So I just kept walking and walking and walking," I said.

Before Rick could respond, there was a bark, and Dooley was running back to me, Carl in tow. "I tried to keep him with me," Carl said quickly as Dooley buried his face into my stomach.

"Don't worry Carl, it's not your fault he ran away from you," I assured the little boy as I ran my fingers through my dog's dirty fur. I had to find some soap and wash out what I could from his fur. "We've just been together so long, just the two of us, that he's just gotten use to checking up on me all the time. I guess he thought he hadn't seen me in a while and came to find me to make sure I was okay."

Carl nodded, before quickly running back to where Sophia was, and it looked like they were about to start in a new game of something.

"Quite a loyal dog you got there," Rick said as he patted Dooley's head. I had to suppress my giggle as I caught a glimpse of Rick's grimace when he brought back his hand with blood on his fingers. "Do you need to give him a bath?"

"Please, if it isn't too much trouble," I said.

"Well, our new plan is to go to the CDC," Rick said. "We're actually going to be leaving in the morning. You're lucky we found you when we did, or else..." Rick trailed off. I knew what I would have been. "Maybe you can clean him there."

"Why are you going to the CDC?" I asked.

"As you could probably tell, this place isn't safe anymore," Rick said, and I nodded my head. "And one of our own was bitten. The CDC is his best shot at getting cured."

I nodded again. But I knew the CDC was too good to be true. If it sounded too good to be true, it probably was. But if Rick wanted to hold out hope, who was I to stop him? Plus, he's way older than me. He probably knows better.

"So, you're leaving in the morning?" I repeated.

"No, _we're_ leaving in the morning," Rick corrected. "That is, if you would like to come with us."

And be left out of a place that might actually have walls? With nice people?

"If it's not too much trouble, I would like to come," I said.

"It's no trouble at all," Rick assured me.

I smiled a bit. "Then that's what we're gonna do."

* * *

Later that night, Lori introduced me to more people, and I was trying to remember faces and names. Carl, Sophia, Shane, Lori and Rick I already knew. But then I met an old guy, Dale, a really tall guy named T-Dog, a guy with a baseball hat, Glenn, I think, a Hispanic man that everyone called Morales (I don't even know if people actually know his name) and a redneck looking guy that I immediately made a mental note to steer clear of named Daryl. I also met the guy that got bitten, Jim, and poor guy was getting sicker by the second.

As for the girls in the group, I met a blonde woman named Andrea (whom, as Lori informed me discreetly, recently lost her sister, Amy), a friendly looking woman named Jacqui, Miranda Morales (Morales's wife, of course) and her two children, Eliza and Louis, and a skinny white haired woman named Carol, who recently lost her husband (though no one seemed sad about it), and Sophia was her daughter.

Rick and Lori let me sleep in their tent last night, even though I felt horribly awkward about it (and I'm not even sure why) but Lori managed to convince me because she felt like if something happened to me she wanted to know about it, though I'm not too sure why. Maternal instincts, I guess. But I have no idea why she was so worried. Dooley sat in front of me all night, and he had been my best defense since I found him, even for a little dog.

The next morning, everyone began loading their stuff in their cars, and I could only stand around awkwardly holding Dooley in my arms to keep him out of people's way when Dale offered to let me ride in his RV (God bless Dale).

We were just about to leave when the Morales family announced that instead of coming with us, they were going to look for some family in Alabama. Rick obviously couldn't force them to come, but he did give them a gun and some shells to help them on the way. I can now only hope and pray that they find their family all in once piece.

Rick offered for me to ride with him and his family and Carol and her daughter, but I politely declined, saying that Dale already offered for me to ride with him. I felt a little awkward around Rick, since he was trying way too hard and I didn't want him to. He had his own family to deal with. Dooley was my family, and we'd take care of each other just fine.

Jim laid in the bed that Dale had in the RV, with Jacqui tending to him, while I sat down at the table, where I am now writing this diary entry. Dale was leading the way, while everyone followed behind him, since he and Glenn (the other guy riding in the RV) had the map.

Dooley's head is in my lap, like he always does around this time of day. Glenn, the person I seemed closest to in age (Carl was probably only twelve; I'm sixteen, and I'm not sure how old Glenn is, but he's definitely closer to me) and I made small talk, about what our favourite movies and tv shows and books were before everything happened, and when things lulled to a comfortable silence, is when I took out this diary to write what happened down. Oh, and Lori said she thinks the gash on my head is doing better, and that she just hopes that the CDC is up and running where they might have medication for it.

Hang on, the RV is making a sort of weird noise, I'm going to go check what it is...

* * *

**TBC...**

**Okay, so we got a bit of episode stuff in this chapter. I'm not sure if I'm doing characters right, so if someone wants to message me and let me know if I'm doing it correctly, or what to improve on, then please do let me know!**

**Chapters will get longer, I promise!**

**I think we're off to a pretty good start, don't you guys?**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the Walking Dead! Just my OC, "Riley Rozen" and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note: **I am really liking this story!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Update**

At this point, I wish I had accepted Rick's offer to ride with him.

Jim kept making these horrible moaning noises, and crying out in pain. I tried blocking it out by reading whatever books Dale had in his RV, but they weren't really holding my interest. I tried napping, but all I could see when I closed my eyes was Robert, and Jim's moaning wasn't exactly helping.

Wait, what was that noise? I think I'm gonna go check it out.

* * *

**A Bit After**

Jim's dead. Well, he wasn't when they took him out, but he's probably on the way there.

Turns out, there was something wrong with Dale's radiator hose (whatever that is) and we can't get back on the move until he's fixed it. And that's when Jacqui announced that Jim can't take much more. I know what she means, I heard it all day.

I overheard Rick and Jim talking, and apparently, Jim wanted us to leave him at the side of the road. Rick initially was against it, but it was what Jim wanted, and as Lori pointed out, it wasn't anybody's choice to make but Jim's.

So they took Jim outside, leaning him against a tree, from what I can see from inside the RV. Yeah, I stayed inside. I just knew Jim as the bitten guy; these people saw him as Jim the person. They deserved to mourn with just them, not a stranger and her dog.

Eventually, Dale managed to get his RV running again, and everyone piled back into their cars, ready to hit the road again. I didn't look over at Jim as Glenn and Jacqui did as we drove away; I didn't want to see another man die in front of me.

It's eerily quiet now, and I don't like it. I think I'm gonna close this diary for now, and play with Dooley, maybe even teach him a couple of tricks that I could then teach to Carl and Sophia so when they play with Dooley again, at least he'll be a bit more entertaining. Or make small talk with Jacqui, who looked really reserved all of a sudden.

I'll open this again when we get to the CDC, if it's running.

* * *

**Update**

I can't believe it. The CDC is up and running. Well, sort of.

...

My first thought when we pulled into Atlanta?

_I am so glad that I didn't come here alone._

The dead were _everywhere_. But most of them were , _dead_ dead. I'm assuming these were ones that got put down.

We pulled up just a bit away from the CDC, and I picked Dooley up, shoving him inside my backpack. In case something happened, like walkers came out of no where (Rick _did _say that the city belongs to the dead now) the last thing we need is for him to start barking and attracting more of them.

I was a bit wobbly on my feet after having sitting down for so long, and sometime during the ride, I had developed a headache. So Glenn helped me out of the RV gently, and we waited for the rest of the group to catch up before we would start walking.

The stench of the dead immediately hit my nose, and I very nearly threw up what little I had eaten. I clamped my hand over my nose, trying not to breathe the smell in.

I moved to pull my own gun out (though I still had no idea how to actually use it; I've hadn't come across a situation that where I'd need to use it yet) but Dale put a hand on my arm, shaking his head, silently telling me I wouldn't need one.

Still, I kept one hand on the pocket where my knife was, and my other hand over my mouth.

With Rick leading the way, we all kept as close together as we could. I had to step over a bunch of bodies, and I kept getting paranoid that one would just wake up and grab my leg. So I kept my legs so close together they might as well have been glued together.

I was walking with Glenn and Jacqui, but I saw Lori, gripping her son's hand tightly, looking behind at us every so often as we walked. I had no idea what was up with that, but my headache was getting worse and I didn't know how much longer I'd be able to stand.

I quietly relayed this to Jacqui, and she put her arm around me (as best as she could), keeping me supported as we quietly made our way towards an entrance.

We came to the garage like doors, and Rick gently rapped against it. When nothing happened, Shane tried pulling the doors up, but again, nothing happened.

Shane pounded the door again as T-Dog said, "There's nobody here."

"Then why are these shutters down?" Rick retorted.

"Walkers!" Daryl warned, loading his crossbow (which is _way _cool by the way; though I'd never say it to his face) and shot the arrow into the head of the nearest walker. Daryl turned around and yelled at Rick, "You led us into a graveyard!"

"He made a call!" Dale defended.

"It was the wrong damn call!" Daryl had retorted.

Shane went right up to him and told him to shut up, which I was two seconds away from doing too. Hey, Rick saved my life, I feel loyal to the guy.

"Rick, this is a dead end," Shane said to his friend.

The smell and the panic wasn't helping my headache, and I leaned on Jacqui a bit more. I thought Lori said my head was looking better?

"Where are we gonna go?" Carol asked worriedly, pulling her daughter closer to her body.

"Do you hear me?" Shane continued. "No blame."

"She's right. We can't be this close to the city after dark!" Lori said worriedly.

"Fort Benning, Rick," Shane said, and my head snapped up. Fort Benning? "Still an option."

"Did you say Fort Benning?" I repeated. We could be going to Fort Benning? I could see Dom again? If he was still alive?

"On what?" Andrea asked. "No food, no fuel, it's a hundred miles."

"Hundred twenty-five," Glenn corrected. "I checked the map."

"Forget Fort Benning," Lori dismissed. "We need answers _tonight, now._"

"We'll think of something," Rick assured his wife.

And that's when everyone began ushering back to the cars. I felt really bad for Rick. He made a call, and there was no results. So what? I made the same sort of decision when I decided to come to Atlanta instead of Fort Benning.

But it looks like Fort Benning was where I was gonna end up anyways.

"The camera!" Rick suddenly said, and I turned around to see what he was talking about. I noticed everyone stopping in their tracks. "It moved."

"You imagined it," Dale quickly dismissed.

"It moved," Rick insisted. He walked up to the camera as Shane tried talking to him.

"It's an automated device. It's gears, okay?" Shane told him. "They're just winding down. Now, come on." He roughly grabbed Rick's arm to pull him towards the car.

Rick wouldn't listen to Shane's pleas, however. He began banging on the doors as Shane tried to get him to stop. I had to admit, Rick had a lot of hope. I'm surprised that he still had any.

"I know you're in there," Rick said. "I know you can hear me. Please, we're desperate. Please help us. We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left-"

Lori pushed Carl towards me, before running over to her husband to try and talk some sense into him. I have no idea why Lori gave Carl to me, since I was barely standing on my own two feet.

I started feeling rustling in my backpack, and I knew it was just a matter of time until Dooley started barking. It was like he had a sort of danger radar, which I appreciated most of the time, but it certainly won't help the situation we have now.

Shane eventually just went over to Rick, throwing an arm over his chest before pulling his friend back. Lori came back over to retrieve her son, and asked me, "Are you okay, Riley? You're pale."

"I'll be fine," I said, pushing myself off of Jacqui. I could feel panic building up inside of me, but I tried my best to keep it down.

Rick kept screaming for the doors to open and let us in as Shane dragged him back. Finally, Rick turned around and we all got ready to run back to the cars.

And that's when a high pitched screeching sound hit our ears, and we all turned around to see the door opening, letting out a bright light.

...

Since this _is_ my private, personal diary, you won't tell anyone what I really think about what we found here?

Okay, I'm just going to assume that you won't. I was beyond disappointed.

There was only one doctor here, Edwin Jenner. He was the one that greeted us when we walked inside the CDC.

We all carefully walked inside, and Jenner had cautiously walked towards us holding a gun. "Anybody infected?" He had asked.

"One of our group was," Rick answered. "He didn't make it."

"Why are you here? What do you want?" Jenner asked.

"A chance," Rick answered.

"That's asking an awful lot these days," Jenner said.

"I know," Rick said, and there was a few moments of silence as we all waited for Jenner's answer.

"You all submit to a blood test. That's the price of admission," Jenner finally stated.

"We can do that," Rick complied.

Jenner finally lowered his gun. "You got stuff to bring in, do it now. Once this door closes, it stays closed."

Rick nodded, and the men quickly went outside to grab all their things. I already had everything of mine with me.

Speaking of, now that we were inside a building, I had decided to take Dooley out of the backpack before a) he tears it or b) he tears my back.

So when I took him out, Jenner freaked because it was a dog and it could be carrying diseases and yadda yadda yadda. But Rick managed to convince him to just test Dooley like he was going to with the rest of us, and that calmed him down.

Thank God for Rick.

Jenner sealed the main entrance before leading us all into an elevator.

I'm not gonna lie when I say that the tension between all of us in that small elevator could have been cut clean through with my father's knife.

Daryl eventually broke the silence by asking, "Doctor's always go around packin' heat like that?"

The ghost of a smile appeared on Jenner's face. "There was plenty left lying around. I familiarized myself." His eyes skimmed over all of us. "But you all look harmless enough." And then he landed his eyes on Carl, and there was an even better smile on his face. "Except you. I'll have to keep my eye on you." And that made Carl smile, which was good. We all need a smile every now and then.

After we left the elevator, Jenner lead us down a hallway. It was quiet until Carol spoke up. "Are we underground?"

"Are you claustrophobic?" Jenner asked her.

"A little."

"Try not to think about it," He answered.

"VI, bring up the lights in the big room," Jenner called out once we walked into the big room.

All the lights came on, and I saw that the room was in the shape of a circle, with desks and computers. "Welcome to zone 5," Jenner said as we walked down.

"Where is everyone?" Rick asked. "The other doctors, the staff?"

Jenner walked into the middle of the room, and then turned around to face us. "I'm it. It's just me here."

"What about the person you were speaking with?" Lori questioned. "VI?"

"VI, say hello to our guests," Jenner spoke to the empty air. "Tell them, welcome."

I almost asked if Jenner was crazy, until I heard a feminine electronic voice say, "Hello guests. Welcome."

After a small pause, Jenner said, "I'm all that's left." And obviously sensing the disappointment in the air, he added, "I'm sorry."

But I never figured out why he was sorry. I knew that there was no getting out of this mess. So instead I focused on the good things. We had four walls. A bed for the night. Food. I would call this day a win.

Jenner then lead us into what looked like a waiting room, and he took our blood, including Dooley's, just like we had agreed.

I was holding my little dog in my lap and scratching behind his ears when Andrea pointed out that if we were infected we would all be running fevers. Then Jenner said that he had already broken the rules, so we might as well let him be thorough.

Also, my headache was getting even worse. If I was lucky, Jenner would have some pain medication. I don't think my wound is infected, though. I guess that's why Jenner kept giving me the weirdest looks. The girl with a dog, a huge gash on her head, and walker blood covering most of her clothes.

When Jacqui mentioned that none of us have eaten much (which made me feel even guiltier for taking their food) he took us into a dining room, where he revealed lots of food. But before I went in, I asked him if there was a room I could quickly change in. He pointed to a closet down the hall, so I scurried down there, Dooley on my heels. I tried to get him to go back to the group where he could hopefully get some food, but I guess he was as weary of these people as I was, and just wanted to make sure I was okay.

So I let him sit outside the door as I quickly peeled the dirty clothes off of me, and switched them in favour of a clean, purple t-shirt, black pants, and boots.

When I came back into the dining room, I was surprised at how much laughter I could hear. Actual _laughter_. Something that I haven't heard in God knows how long.

There was an empty seat next to Lori, so I quickly sat down in it, grateful for any sort of familiarity. Dooley sat down next to my feet, and Glenn handed me a plate so I could take some food. I quickly put a little bit of this and that and put it on the ground in front of Dooley for him to eat. I wish I had dog food, but any sort of food to keep him going is just fine with me.

Then I grabbed another plate, and this time, piled it with food for me. Dale was pouring some wine in a glass for Lori as he tried to convince Lori to let Carl have a little bit of wine. It took Rick's help, but she finally consented, and it was silent as we all waited for Carl's reaction. He took a careful sip, before recoiling with a loud "ew", which brought out a bout of laughter from everyone at the table, and it was very clear that a lot of them were already drunk, or at least on the way there.

I couldn't help but remember my first thought when I turned sixteen. I was disappointed that there was no bars in sight so I couldn't have my first drink, so before I could stop myself, I cleared my throat and said, "I'd like to try some."

That brought everyone's attention on me, and I supressed the flush that was crawling up my neck. "What, dainty thing like you?" Daryl asked.

That brought out more laughter, and I surprised myself when some of it came from me. "Hey! I'll have you know that I turned sixteen a couple weeks ago. And I think it's high time I had my first drink. And who knows? This might be the only chance I get."

"She's got a point," Dale supported.

"_Thank_ you, Dale," I said. "I'll have a bit."

Dale just looked over to Rick and Lori (which is still bothering me, even as I write this now) and they both just shook their heads with shrugs. "If she wants to try it, I say, hell, let her try it," Rick said.

So Dale poured a bit into a glass for me, before handing it to me. I just looked down and couldn't help but admire the redness of it. And with everyone's eyes on me for _my_ reaction, I put the glass to my lips, and took a sip.

And I nearly spluttered it everywhere. First of all, it burned right when it hit my mouth, and didn't appeal to my taste buds. Then, it burned right when it hit my stomach. I pushed the glass away from me. "So I'm never trying _that_ again."

And then we all fell into laughter again. I quickly drank some water to try and get rid of the gross taste in my mouth (Carl hadn't been wrong), and dug in to the first proper meal I've had since the world went to shit. And let me tell you, it was good.

_Right_ when I had my face stuffed with food is when Rick stood up, clinking his glass. "It seems to me we haven't thanked our host properly.

We all lifted our glasses as T-Dog said, "He is more than our host!"

And it was all followed by some cheers, and a "Boo-yah" from Daryl that made me laugh, but then quickly bummed me out because that was exactly like something my brother Dominic would have said, and then me and Christine would have begged him to stop and then not even acknowledge him.

"So when you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, Doc?" Shane, who had been quiet for most of dinner, suddenly spoke up. "All the-uh, the other doctors, that were supposed to be figuring out what happened, where are they?"

"We're celebrating, Shane," Rick tried to remind him. Yeah Shane, no need to bum me out even more than I already was. Rick sat back down as he said, "Don't need to do this right now."

"Whoa, wait a second," Shane said, not backing down. "This is why we're here, right? This was your move-" And then I got the feeling that there was something more going on between the two friends. "Supposed to find all the answers. Instead we-" He actually laughed, as if he found it really humorous. "We found him. Found one man. Why?"

Believe me, Diary, it took everything in me not to shout at Shane, "This man kinda saved our asses from being walker food", but I did it. I'm new to this group, and I don't want to do anything that would make them want to kick me out, though Lori tried convincing me that they wouldn't.

Anyways, back to what Jenner was saying. "Well, when things got bad, a lot of people just left, went off to be with their families."

That's exactly what my mother, a nurse, did. She wanted to stay and help the people she could, but my dad managed to convince her that if we didn't leave now then we'd never leave alive. And that made her run right out of the hospital.

"And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted," Jenner went on.

"Every last one?" Shane asked, and I was kinda getting really fed up with his attitude. So much that I almost-but managed to restrain myself-flicked my peas at his face.

"No. Many couldn't face walking out the door," Jenner answered. "They...opted out," He said, probably for lack of better word. And that made everyone as bummed out as me as he continued. "There was a rash of suicides." Jenner looked down at his hands. "That was a bad time."

"You didn't leave," Andrea pointed out. "Why?"

"I just kept working," He explained. "Hoping to do some good."

"Dude, you are such a buzzkill, man," Glenn said to Shane as he sat back down.

The rest of the meal was rather quiet, but maybe it was quiet to me because I was shovelling my face with my food so I could get the hell out of the awkward situation that Shane had created.

Everyone seemed to have the same mindset as me, because everyone else quickly finished up. I grabbed my bag off the floor, and swung it over my shoulder. Then I picked my dog up, and carried him as we all followed Jenner down some halls.

"Most of the facility is powered down, including housing, so you'll have to make do here," Jenner explained, and I noticed when I saw some of the lights flickering. "The couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you like. There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy." Jenner turned around and bent slightly down to face Carl, Sophia, and me, but mostly Carl and Sophia. "Just don't plug in the video games, okay?" And he received nods from them. "Or anything that draws power." He straightened back up. "Same applies. If you shower, go easy on the hot water."

The words "hot water" made me nearly die. Even the idea of a shower made me want to drop to the ground and kiss Jenner's feet. I mean, I had sort of bathed in rivers and streams when I was still in the woods, but I wouldn't call it a shower, since I didn't have any soap. It was mainly just me splashing water on my face and neck.

And apparently Glenn felt the same way, because he turned around, and the look on his face was clearly one of awe. "Hot water?" He said, a small smile creeping on his face.

"That's what the man said," T-Dog said, the same smile on his face.

I found an empty room with a bathroom, so I quickly claimed it, tossing my backpack on the couch that was there. Now, under normal circumstances, the couch would have done just fine. It was heaven just to have something to lean my back on that wasn't rough tree bark.

But Jenner _did_ mention that there were cots, and well, cots are better than couches, right? They were like actual _beds_.

So I got Jenner to direct me to the cots, and with Glenn's help, got it into the room. It was a simple looking room. All white walls, the couch, a dresser, a desk, and now the cot.

I looked in the dresser drawers, and found some clothes. A lot of it was too big for me, but I found some clothes that fit me just fine after I tried them on. So I stuffed them into my backpack, before putting the t-shirt and shorts that I planned to wear after my-I can't believe I'm writing the word down-_shower_.

I also found a first aid kit, and since there was a mirror, I could check my wound out and wrap it up myself this time.

I wanted to take my shower first, I really did. But I figured it would be easier to wash Dooley first, and if he splashes, well, I was wet anyways. But oh, Dooley didn't make it easy for _me._ For a puppy, he sure liked to run around _a lot._ It eventually came to the point where I couldn't catch the dog myself (I swear he just _knew_ that I was planning on giving him a bath) so I enlisted the help of Carl, who was more than happy to chase down a dog.

With his help, I was able to get Dooley into the shower. I turned the hot water on, and right then and there, almost cried at the feeling of it on my skin. But then I remembered what Jenner had said about going easy on the water, so I quickly began scrubbing all of the walker blood off of my dog. The white soap and black blood of the walkers turned the water gray, and I had to turn my head away from it to keep my actually wonderful dinner down. Plus, the bit of alcohol in my system wasn't really helping with that.

Once Dooley was washed and dried, I thanked Carl for his left before he left. Then, I let Dooley loose in the room (it was a small room and he was a small dog-he couldn't do _that_ much damage) before going back into the bathroom. I peeled my clothes and bandage off, and walked under the faucet, where the rain of hot water began cascading down my back. It felt even better than when I was washing Dooley, mostly because I was washing myself. It made me feel better, helping to kill the headache I had. I had to be careful not to get any soap around my cut, but other than that, my shower was like heaven.

I quickly washed the walker blood, my remnants of any of my own blood left behind, and whatever dirt was on my body or in my hair. When I walked out, I felt so much better. I quickly changed into the a bit too big t-shirt, and the old shorts. I grabbed the first aid kit from off of the counter and properly examined my wound for the first time

It wasn't as big as I thought it was. I thought it went across my whole forehead, but it was only like, half of it. I found some disinfectant (it hurt like a bitch when I applied it, though, but the last thing I wanted was an infection) before adding some polysporin that was there, before finally applying a new roll of bandage. I shoved the kit into my backpack too, just so that I know where it would be.

Remembering what Jenner said about a rec room, I quickly found it, and inside, Carl and Sophia were playing checkers. I thought it was sort of cute, them playing a plain game. I declined their offer to play, saying that I only went in to find some books. I am a huge book nerd, and I had a huge supply of books in my house. I grabbed a few before we left, but those got left behind in the car. Dale did have a selection of books, but none of them held my interest.

I scanned the shelves, picking a couple books here and there (a book about medicine-I always wanted to be a doctor before everything happened) a book about animals (know which ones are edible, which aren't, right? Besides, I adore looking at bears) and I even found a Harry Potter book, though God knows how it got there. But I took it anyways.

Once I was satisfied with what I had, I said a quick good night to Carl and Sophia, and to Lori, who had walked into the room just as I had walked out. I went back into my room, where my dog was laying on the cot. Poor thing looked exhausted. But I would be too, if I was on the look out for walkers all the time, which I pretty much used to be. Until tonight, that is.

I had just stuffed my backpack with the books other than the Harry Potter one when there was knock at the door. Dooley perked up, but I scratched behind his ears to let him know that it was okay. We were safe here. "Come in!" I called out, sitting on the bed (an actual bed!) and crossing my legs.

The door opened slightly, and in tumbled in a person. I immediately jumped up to grab them before they fell, and I got a good enough look to see that it was Rick. "Had a bit too much to drink?"

"Yeah," He said with a laugh as I stabled him. "How are you doing? Settled in okay?"

I looked around at the pretty bare room, except for the cot, my backpacks, and my dog. "Just fine. I was about to get ready to sleep, actually. Might be the only chance I'll get a proper night's sleep."

"Good, that's good," He said. "Well, just wanted to check on you. Night." And he stumbled right back out.

_Well,_ I thought to myself as I walked back to sit on the bed. _He's definitely not going to remember this in the morning._

There was another knock at the door, and as irritated as I was to just get to sleep, I told the person to come in.

And in walked Dr. Jenner, who I was surprised to see. He was holding what looked like a small bottle of pills in his hands. "Hey. I, uh, couldn't help but notice the bandage on your head. What happened?"

I instinctively skimmed my hand over the fresh bandage. "I fell out of a tree, and ripped my head open pretty bad."

Jenner nodded. "Are you okay?"

"I think so," I say. "It still hurts, though."

"I thought it might," He said. "I'm not a medical doctor, but I do have these painkillers." He held out the bottle. "If you take a couple, you should get better."

I didn't even hesitate to grab the bottle out of Jenner's hands. "Thanks, Doctor Jenner. You've been a huge help, and very generous."

He slightly smiled. "Well, you're welcome. Get some sleep kid." And with that, he was gone.

I quickly read over the label on the painkillers, and decided to take on, especially when I saw that it would cause drowsiness, and in my experience, medicine that makes me drowsy usually means a night of no dreams, and that's exactly what I needed tonight.

After I took a couple, I pulled out my diary, and laid flat on my stomach, opening it as I did so.

And that's when I started writing what happened down. It's been a long day, with lots of ups and downs. But tonight, Dooley and I finally had what we were looking for. Food, water, people, and a place to stay that wasn't a tree.

Well, time to go to bed. Tomorrow is gonna be a long, hopefully boring day.

* * *

**TBC...**

**I really liked this chapter, didn't you?**

**I actually have a lot of stuff planned out for Riley in the later seasons. I'm really excited for them!**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**


End file.
